Amen. I drive a 1990 Caprice, bought used. It started out life as a State Police cruiser, and it's fun as hell to drive. Handles like a dream. Corners so much better than FWD.
Still, I would consider trading it for a 1969 Dodge Charger R/T, we all know why.
The thing I really liked about the Mandrake 7.1+ install is the dependency checking. Unlike Red Hat, if you remove a component that others depend on, it tells you so immediatley. That in mind, do an expert install, and pick the general categories that you think suit your needs. Make sure you choose "Select Individual Packages", or what ever Mandrake calls it (Been awhile since I've installed it). The general categories will select a large, number of packages for you. After you tell it to let you select individual packages, and tell it that whatever size it says it is installing is fine, you'll get a tree of all the packages. It is VERY daunting at first glance, and seems like it will take forever. But, forge ahead, and you'll get through it. Unselect the packages you don't want. If a package depends on the one you are unselecting, it will say something to the effect of, "Removing packages FOO, BAR, UCK, and FUP. Yes|No" This is the confirmation dialog, if you say yes it will remove the listed packages. Some packages it claims are required. Some, like RedHat it installs hether you tell it to or not. Sendmail comes to mind, Red Hat anyways. There is no doubt that you will have to go through and remove and/or add a few packages w/rpm after the install completes. Compilers and network servers spring to mind as things that are not needed on a desktop. Check the logs the install creates to find exactly what is installed, and what version it is. Look them up, find out if you really need them. Judging from your reply, you don't need a whole lot. If it weren't for the security policy you mentions, doing the "Workstation" install might fit you. You should visit http://www.openna.com and look at the docs they have to offer. In particular, look for "Securing and Optimising Linux. They have a Red Hat edition, which I have been reading and referring to. It is geared mostly towards servers, but it does outline some good concepts. Since Mandrake is a derivative of Red Hat, much of the book will carry over very well. http://www.linuxdocs.org is invaluable as well. Are there any LUGS in your area? Any computer groups of any focus? Even if they are not directly involved with Linux, there's a good chance that they know of someone or some folks who are into Linux.
Make no mistake, you are going to have to spend a good bit of time and effort up front with this sort of thing. With Linux, you are in control, rather than a vendor, so the buck really stops with you. Doing the research up front saves a lot of, "Oh, shit!!! What did I fsck up?!?! and how in the hell do I fix it?" later. Believe me, I know.
Even though it looks as if it has a huge amount of stuff, as do most of the major distros, you're defintitely better off starting with a full distro, installing it, testing it, and removing what you don't want. I wouldn't know where to begin "rolling your own" distro, but I wouldn't think it is an overnight project. I haven't used KickStart, but I have heard good thing about it. KickStart is used to script a RedHat/Mandrake install, to install what you need, and leave out what you don't. Other distros probably can use it as well, and I am sure there are other utils to do the same thing.
Do you have a good internet connection? I'd recommend checking out as many distros as you can firsthand, after reading the other replies. Most of the major distros are going to have way more than you want or need, and will need to be customised for you. Find out what "goodies" people really ARE using in their everyday life. You might be surprised. Well, maybe not about music;) Finding a LUG is a really good thing to do. Find someone with more experience than me. Find someone with more experience than you.
Most likely every little thing that Windows talks to. I don't have any links, but it has been posited in various places that any change to the BIOS would fuck you, and any changes to the "C:" drive, especially since it sounds like it had placed files on your hard drive.
The last couple PCs we ordered from Systemax did not come with much on the CD. Basically it was just a bootloader and config files for the PC it was taped to. At the time, we were investigating Win2k for use, but still using Win95 for most PCs. They not only refused to sell us Win95 with the PCs, they refused to sell them bare metal, unless we jumped through a bunch of hoops to verify we owned licenses for Win95 already. Just wasn't worth it, so we don't buy Systemax any more. Global was the supplier at the time, but I think Systemax bought Tiger recently, and distributes through them as well.
Systemax is also the one who let us place an order for a hardware ISA modem with a new PC, charged us the going rate, and shipped us a winmodem, at the time cost about $70 less. THEN, they kept fucking with me on the phone, stating that they didn't sell those, they weren't available, followed by, we have them in stock, but we don't sell them any more, we have orders not to. On my third call, got a genius who claimed that they could sell them, but only with a new machine, because it had to be entered into their ordering system as an upgrade. Finally, I badgered my account rep into forcing them to ship us the right hardware and pick up the crap (they never did). Still, the funniest part of the whole thing is that several other Global/Systemax customers were insisting on real modems, but the rep just did not get it.
I would have to advance Mandrake. As danpbrowning pointed out, you'll probably be best off starting with a boxed distro, then modifying it to suit your needs. You have a good selection of options, including, I believe, Star Office w/Mandrake 7.2. Mandrake also supports KickStart out of the box to make scripting setups easier. Red Hat 6.x is also good. I am using RH 6.2 at home, since they support an FTP install. (Mandrake does too, but I was having trouble connecting to their mirrors that night.) You may have trouble promoting RH 7.0 due to the bad press, and may want to avoid it for the reasons it got bad press. Too cutting edge for something as staid as an employer-provided workstation. Red Hat includes Kudzu, which is supposed to check for hardware changes. On my PC at home, it did so beautifully with my NIC and modem (both on the HCL for RH 6.2).
Yep. Systemax does that too. Which is why we dumped them and buy AOpens now. This "deal" is that you don't get a Windows disc. You get either the "rescue" disc, or a boot dick that accesses the "rescue" image on a HDD, usually on it's own partition. This rescue image will reinstall the PC to the EXACT state it was delivered in, and as such makes it difficult to impossible to use it on a different PC, as it will likely crash because it doesn't recognize everything. AOpen, on the other hand, is very up front with their PCs. The vendor we work with is, at least. They are willing to cut out the install charges and ship the PCs bare metal, with all driver disks and an OEM Win2k disc. All in all, they ass-rape us a heck of a lot less than Systemax does their customers.
It's what you're used to, I guess. Me, personally, I broke down and bought an M$ Optical Intellimouse right after Xmas. (Needed my serial port for new camcorder. Couldn't justify the extra $30 for the Explorer model, though.) The thumb and pinkie have me hooked, can't wait to get them working in X. They are so convenient that I find myself at work trying to navigate using my plain Intellimouse which doesn't have them! IMO, the more the merrier!
Dealing with technology as they do, the CTO, while climbing to the top, has had to make more blood sacrifices to SCSI, PIO, LUN and the various other mischevious entities which live within a computer. These entities must be coaxed and appeased into working together, and when proper gifts and offerings are made, they will interact in amazing ways, and prevent the smoke from escaping the PC.
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Re:Linus should have his own action-figure line
on
Linus Talks About 2.4
·
· Score: 1
Joined by "High-Kick Tove"!
Now with TURBO KARATE ACTION!!
It would appear that they are already preparing for upgrade revenue to the Xbox 2002. From the press release:
...pastel colored buttons on controllers aren't cool...
Judging from the pictures of the controller, they clearly have pastel-colored buttons. Why would they go to such trouble to find out that the "gamer culture" does not like pastel-colored buttons, does not want pastel-colored buttons and feels that pastel-colored buttons are "not cool," just to put them in anyway? Xbox 2002 will probably have non-pastel-colored buttons, so the "gamer culture" will be compelled to upgrade to stop being "not cool."
The only real life example I have found is the use of neural networks in elevators to predict elevator traffic.
They tried it before at The Guides headquarters. They gave them a limited abiblity to see into the future, so they could be there ready to pick you up before you pushed the button. All that resulted was depressed elevators that wanted to stay at the bottom of the shaft.
You'd think that they saw Frogstar Fighters in their future or something.
Monster Truck Rally? Come on, that predates Microsoft. For as long as I can remember, (1970's), I can remeber hearing Monster Truck Rally commercials on TV and radio. I knew what Bigfoot was well before I turned 5 (1978).
You have to pay for the whole seat, but you'll only need te edge!
Sega, of course. The only thing that really stuck in my head about it was being afraid of rupturing myself trying to do a fatality in Mortal Kombat. Now that i'm thinking about it, didn't the NES have a VR glove? Maybe with a needle, thread, some duct tape and a little creativity, you could get it on your foot.
Yes, but, while IANAL, I wouldn't think that a company that is gobbling up others would fall under the first two assumptions.
(1) If a business is "faltering," how can they swing the loans to purchase others? I am presuming loans were required as they are not profitable, and thus are not likely to have tons of ready cash on hand.
(2) Whe you swallow other copmpanies whole, part of what you get is staff. From the sound of it, current employees were being made redundant by management in favor of employees from the purchased companies. Most likely, the contracts involved contained language guaranteeing the jobs of the employees of said purchased companies, so the cuts had to come from the employees of the purchaser. There is no way in hell this could be "unforeseen."
IMO, keeping in mind that IANAL, these people have a VERY strong unfair practices case. Even if there is 60 days worth of severance pay being given, which the article doesn't mention, this is still gross misconduct on behalf of the management, and they really should be brought up short. Treating people like shit is not a good business practice.
Anybody have a list of businesses that this place owns or is involved in? They are prime candidates for the Capitalist Death Penalty. (Not buying a fucking product or service from them, and making a strong but polite case to others, businesses and the government not to purchase from them.)
Slashdot Mirror
The proof really WAS in the pudding!
--
"Oh, no. Those litter bugs just got on a boat! We'll never catch them now!"
"Incorrect, Michael. Look, a scenic footpath that is just wide enough for me given my precision driving program."
"You're right! Precision Driving Mode activate!!!"
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Amen. I drive a 1990 Caprice, bought used. It started out life as a State Police cruiser, and it's fun as hell to drive. Handles like a dream. Corners so much better than FWD.
Still, I would consider trading it for a 1969 Dodge Charger R/T, we all know why.
--
Try telling a police officer that "I pay your salary" if you want to see what I mean.
You forgot to add, "So get me a glass of water."
--
The thing I really liked about the Mandrake 7.1+ install is the dependency checking. Unlike Red Hat, if you remove a component that others depend on, it tells you so immediatley. That in mind, do an expert install, and pick the general categories that you think suit your needs. Make sure you choose "Select Individual Packages", or what ever Mandrake calls it (Been awhile since I've installed it). The general categories will select a large, number of packages for you. After you tell it to let you select individual packages, and tell it that whatever size it says it is installing is fine, you'll get a tree of all the packages. It is VERY daunting at first glance, and seems like it will take forever. But, forge ahead, and you'll get through it. Unselect the packages you don't want. If a package depends on the one you are unselecting, it will say something to the effect of, "Removing packages FOO, BAR, UCK, and FUP. Yes|No" This is the confirmation dialog, if you say yes it will remove the listed packages. Some packages it claims are required. Some, like RedHat it installs hether you tell it to or not. Sendmail comes to mind, Red Hat anyways. There is no doubt that you will have to go through and remove and/or add a few packages w/rpm after the install completes. Compilers and network servers spring to mind as things that are not needed on a desktop. Check the logs the install creates to find exactly what is installed, and what version it is. Look them up, find out if you really need them. Judging from your reply, you don't need a whole lot. If it weren't for the security policy you mentions, doing the "Workstation" install might fit you. You should visit http://www.openna.com and look at the docs they have to offer. In particular, look for "Securing and Optimising Linux. They have a Red Hat edition, which I have been reading and referring to. It is geared mostly towards servers, but it does outline some good concepts. Since Mandrake is a derivative of Red Hat, much of the book will carry over very well. http://www.linuxdocs.org is invaluable as well. Are there any LUGS in your area? Any computer groups of any focus? Even if they are not directly involved with Linux, there's a good chance that they know of someone or some folks who are into Linux.
Make no mistake, you are going to have to spend a good bit of time and effort up front with this sort of thing. With Linux, you are in control, rather than a vendor, so the buck really stops with you. Doing the research up front saves a lot of, "Oh, shit!!! What did I fsck up?!?! and how in the hell do I fix it?" later. Believe me, I know.
Even though it looks as if it has a huge amount of stuff, as do most of the major distros, you're defintitely better off starting with a full distro, installing it, testing it, and removing what you don't want. I wouldn't know where to begin "rolling your own" distro, but I wouldn't think it is an overnight project. I haven't used KickStart, but I have heard good thing about it. KickStart is used to script a RedHat/Mandrake install, to install what you need, and leave out what you don't. Other distros probably can use it as well, and I am sure there are other utils to do the same thing.
Do you have a good internet connection? I'd recommend checking out as many distros as you can firsthand, after reading the other replies. Most of the major distros are going to have way more than you want or need, and will need to be customised for you. Find out what "goodies" people really ARE using in their everyday life. You might be surprised. Well, maybe not about music;) Finding a LUG is a really good thing to do. Find someone with more experience than me. Find someone with more experience than you.
--
Most likely every little thing that Windows talks to. I don't have any links, but it has been posited in various places that any change to the BIOS would fuck you, and any changes to the "C:" drive, especially since it sounds like it had placed files on your hard drive.
The last couple PCs we ordered from Systemax did not come with much on the CD. Basically it was just a bootloader and config files for the PC it was taped to. At the time, we were investigating Win2k for use, but still using Win95 for most PCs. They not only refused to sell us Win95 with the PCs, they refused to sell them bare metal, unless we jumped through a bunch of hoops to verify we owned licenses for Win95 already. Just wasn't worth it, so we don't buy Systemax any more. Global was the supplier at the time, but I think Systemax bought Tiger recently, and distributes through them as well.
Systemax is also the one who let us place an order for a hardware ISA modem with a new PC, charged us the going rate, and shipped us a winmodem, at the time cost about $70 less. THEN, they kept fucking with me on the phone, stating that they didn't sell those, they weren't available, followed by, we have them in stock, but we don't sell them any more, we have orders not to. On my third call, got a genius who claimed that they could sell them, but only with a new machine, because it had to be entered into their ordering system as an upgrade. Finally, I badgered my account rep into forcing them to ship us the right hardware and pick up the crap (they never did). Still, the funniest part of the whole thing is that several other Global/Systemax customers were insisting on real modems, but the rep just did not get it.
De-rant....I feel better.
--
I would have to advance Mandrake. As danpbrowning pointed out, you'll probably be best off starting with a boxed distro, then modifying it to suit your needs. You have a good selection of options, including, I believe, Star Office w/Mandrake 7.2. Mandrake also supports KickStart out of the box to make scripting setups easier. Red Hat 6.x is also good. I am using RH 6.2 at home, since they support an FTP install. (Mandrake does too, but I was having trouble connecting to their mirrors that night.) You may have trouble promoting RH 7.0 due to the bad press, and may want to avoid it for the reasons it got bad press. Too cutting edge for something as staid as an employer-provided workstation. Red Hat includes Kudzu, which is supposed to check for hardware changes. On my PC at home, it did so beautifully with my NIC and modem (both on the HCL for RH 6.2).
--
Yep. Systemax does that too. Which is why we dumped them and buy AOpens now. This "deal" is that you don't get a Windows disc. You get either the "rescue" disc, or a boot dick that accesses the "rescue" image on a HDD, usually on it's own partition. This rescue image will reinstall the PC to the EXACT state it was delivered in, and as such makes it difficult to impossible to use it on a different PC, as it will likely crash because it doesn't recognize everything. AOpen, on the other hand, is very up front with their PCs. The vendor we work with is, at least. They are willing to cut out the install charges and ship the PCs bare metal, with all driver disks and an OEM Win2k disc. All in all, they ass-rape us a heck of a lot less than Systemax does their customers.
--
It's what you're used to, I guess. Me, personally, I broke down and bought an M$ Optical Intellimouse right after Xmas. (Needed my serial port for new camcorder. Couldn't justify the extra $30 for the Explorer model, though.) The thumb and pinkie have me hooked, can't wait to get them working in X. They are so convenient that I find myself at work trying to navigate using my plain Intellimouse which doesn't have them! IMO, the more the merrier!
--
Is this the line with blindfolds, cigarettes and last requests? Is there a drummer rolling out a slow, measured beat?
--
Anyone else think this sounds like spam? Has anyone who received reported it as such?
--
Please don't treat women^W^W^W^W^Wcode as objects. Please regard them as individuals, as worthy of your respect as any of Gods other creations.
--
Playing the clip backwards has yielded an interesting message in English! The discovered message is as follows:
"You must leave the area around Jupiter within 2 days. Something is going to happen. Something wonderful."
--
Dealing with technology as they do, the CTO, while climbing to the top, has had to make more blood sacrifices to SCSI, PIO, LUN and the various other mischevious entities which live within a computer. These entities must be coaxed and appeased into working together, and when proper gifts and offerings are made, they will interact in amazing ways, and prevent the smoke from escaping the PC.
--
Joined by "High-Kick Tove"!
Now with TURBO KARATE ACTION!!
--
It would appear that they are already preparing for upgrade revenue to the Xbox 2002. From the press release:
...pastel colored buttons on controllers aren't cool...
Judging from the pictures of the controller, they clearly have pastel-colored buttons. Why would they go to such trouble to find out that the "gamer culture" does not like pastel-colored buttons, does not want pastel-colored buttons and feels that pastel-colored buttons are "not cool," just to put them in anyway? Xbox 2002 will probably have non-pastel-colored buttons, so the "gamer culture" will be compelled to upgrade to stop being "not cool."
--
So you're saying there is hardware out there that Microsoft software can RUN on?
--
The only real life example I have found is the use of neural networks in elevators to predict elevator traffic.
They tried it before at The Guides headquarters. They gave them a limited abiblity to see into the future, so they could be there ready to pick you up before you pushed the button. All that resulted was depressed elevators that wanted to stay at the bottom of the shaft.
You'd think that they saw Frogstar Fighters in their future or something.
--
Monster Truck Rally? Come on, that predates Microsoft. For as long as I can remember, (1970's), I can remeber hearing Monster Truck Rally commercials on TV and radio. I knew what Bigfoot was well before I turned 5 (1978).
You have to pay for the whole seat, but you'll only need te edge!
--
If that is your real name. I believe we still have something called the swimsuit competition!
--
Brings back memories. Sniff. The zapper was great. Duck Hunt was fun as hell, and my brother and I wasted many an afternoon playing it.
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But leaving them in limbo for hours is really being an asshole. That kind of treatment of employees is sick and sadistic.
--
Sega, of course. The only thing that really stuck in my head about it was being afraid of rupturing myself trying to do a fatality in Mortal Kombat. Now that i'm thinking about it, didn't the NES have a VR glove? Maybe with a needle, thread, some duct tape and a little creativity, you could get it on your foot.
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Or the stapler. Those Swingline staplers are worth their weight in gold;-}
When people use 'em at our office, I can't help laughing.
Still, much funnier in the movie than real life. Fucking bastards. Hopefully someone can nail them to the wall for this.
--
Yes, but, while IANAL, I wouldn't think that a company that is gobbling up others would fall under the first two assumptions.
(1) If a business is "faltering," how can they swing the loans to purchase others? I am presuming loans were required as they are not profitable, and thus are not likely to have tons of ready cash on hand.
(2) Whe you swallow other copmpanies whole, part of what you get is staff. From the sound of it, current employees were being made redundant by management in favor of employees from the purchased companies. Most likely, the contracts involved contained language guaranteeing the jobs of the employees of said purchased companies, so the cuts had to come from the employees of the purchaser. There is no way in hell this could be "unforeseen."
IMO, keeping in mind that IANAL, these people have a VERY strong unfair practices case. Even if there is 60 days worth of severance pay being given, which the article doesn't mention, this is still gross misconduct on behalf of the management, and they really should be brought up short. Treating people like shit is not a good business practice.
Anybody have a list of businesses that this place owns or is involved in? They are prime candidates for the Capitalist Death Penalty. (Not buying a fucking product or service from them, and making a strong but polite case to others, businesses and the government not to purchase from them.)
--